Alsa Chrome Paints and Candies

[0000PaleHorse0000]

Hello All,

I've been quite a lurker for some time, as the search feature has been my best friend, yet I am at a point where I need to post my first question.

I'm by no means an expert, but I feel like I have a fairly good knowledge and quite a few paint jobs under my belt, and I am ready to take a partial dive into candies and the chrome. I recently purchased some Killer Cans in Chrome, Blood Red Candy, and Black Candy from Alsa Corp cause they had a subscriber special that was too good to pass up.

This is where I run into a problem.
1. I'm looking for a primer other than Alsa at this point due to my budget, and wanted to take this opportunity to carefully find the best primer for this setup (Urethane vs Epoxy Primers?).

2. I know that I after I apply my primer, black base coat, and gloss that I should buff the gloss to a nice finish before I start the "Chrome" dusting, in order to get the full effect. My question is what steps/compounds should I use to maximize this effect? I've buffed before, but I don't want to use something that will alter the adherence or luster of the Chrome dusting.

3. Lastly, Alsa Corp has stopped providing the speed clear (2k) in the can, as their suppliers can no longer provide it. I know Alsa had a few problems where people were using the chrome, and when they clear coated it, it lost it's original luster. The salesman told me to stick with a urethane clear, but again, I don't want to just chance it with the money I just spent on paint (i.e. shoot dirty cheep surplus ammo through my brand new, finely tuned competition rifle that I just spent a butt load of money on but too cheap to shoot good ammo:sillyme

Anyways, I appreciate any wisdom that y'all might share and I'm looking forward to everyone's thoughts.

 

[scapegoat]

From everything I read and watched on this ...... They want the clear wet sanded and rubbed just like a high quality paint job . 1500,2000. 2500 then mild cut compound and polish . When spraying the chrome ,less is more . A few LIGHT coats works best . I want to try this someday , soon I hope . Good Luck .

 

[TAZ]

Scapegoat is correct.
Pretend you are doing a normal black paint job.
Black, clear, wetsand and buff. THEN without resanding, dust the chrome paint over the black. I think SG meant to say 'less is better'. You actually want the black to help the chrome. Once you spray too much of the paint on, it just looks like a fine alum paint.
Shouldn't be concerned about what compound you use. Just make sure it's clean before you spray the chrome.

I think also the reason that when they clearcoated, it lost it's luster is because they were spraying the clear too quickly (and possibly too heavy). I think the key it to just let the chrome paint sit overnight.

ALOT of work to do it right.